Lil Nas X has dropped a new video for “Sun Goes Down.” The track follows the release of the video for the self-directed “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which arrived in March.
In the new clip, Lil Nas X appears in a white suit as he goes into a meditative state. He travels back in time to when he worked at a Taco Bell, spends time in his room, and goes to a school dance, where he experiences isolation and breaks down. His current self provides solace and encouragement to his former self.
He explained his visual approach and concept for the video to Rolling Stone. “My visual aesthetic is always changing. But a reoccurring theme in my work would always be Surrealism, or Futurism. I really love to mix reality with imagination—I guess that’s my ‘thing,’” he said. “But for [the music video for] ‘Sun Goes Down,’ I kept that kind of feeling to a minimum, because I wanted it to feel very real. But you still have me in a meditative state, where I go to this purple world where it’s like my future and past all existing in one place. I fly through that and go to my past me, and I’m trying to uplift him.”
This weekend, the artist will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, closing out SNL‘s Season 46. Lil Nas X announced the performance would include “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” alongside a “new song,” which is likely to be “Sun Goes Down.” On June 4th, Lil Nas X joins Demi Lovato, Pink and more artists for the Can’t Cancel Pride virtual concert benefitting the LGBTQ+ community.